A paradox that arises from Christian duty as "ambassador"

Christians often say that we should "love the sinner but hate the sin", and refer to this as a paradox. This completely misses the point. Sin might seem fun or pleasant for a time, but in the long run it destroys. It destroys our relationships with other people, it robs us of dignity, and of course it separates us from God. It is like a disease.

My best friend in college died of a terrible, wasting disease. It sapped his strength and destroyed his ability to function. He spent his last few month in his death bed basically just waiting to die. Would you expect me to say, "This disease is a part of him. It fills his body. It dominates his life. Therefore if I love my friend, I should love this disease"? That would be absurd. It is equally absurd to say, "I love my friend, BUT I hate his disease." No, the rational thing to say is, "I love my friend, AND THEREFORE I hate this disease." I hated the disease to exactly the same extent that I loved my friend.

The disease my friend died of was AIDS. There was no mystery how he got it: he was a practicing h*m*sexual. The Bible says that h*m*sexuality is a sin. Even aside from the physical effects, I saw how it destroyed his life. He never knew what it meant to love and be loved by a woman. He never enjoyed sex as God intended it. It destroyed his relationship with other men. Would you expect me to say, "Homosexuality is a part of him. It was how he was born. It is his lifestyle. Therefore if I love my friend, I should love his h*m*sexuality"? That would be absurd. It is equally absurd to say, "I love my friend, BUT I hate his sin." No, the rational thing to say is, "I love my friend, AND THEREFORE I hate his sin." I hated his sin to exactly the same extent that I loved my friend.

I don't know Richard Dawkins, so I can't love him in any but the most abstract sense. But if I did know him and love him as a friend, I would hate his atheism, not because it hurts me in any way, but because it hurts him.

Of course sin can and does hurt people other than the person doing it: there are often direct victims. Stealing destroys the soul of the thief, but of course it also deprives the person robbed of his physical wealth. Sometimes non-Christians do things to actively hurt Christians. I'm talking about real persecution, like imprisoning, torturing, and killing people, as goes on in many parts of the world. In such a case a Christian might hate his persecutor for the harm he has done him. In that case he hates the sin, not because he loves the sinner, but because he loves himself. If someone is tortured, I can't condemn him for hating his torturer. I certainly don't claim that I would not. But surely it is a great thing when someone can love his torturer, and care more about the soul of the torturer than about his own life. That is the example of Christ, and many Christians throughout history have managed to follow it.

The problem with the paradox, as I see it, is with one of your premises:

5) These non-Christian modes of behaviour, such as the books published by Dawkins, inevitably offend many Christians.

While Christians may be offended by Dawkins, they should not love him any less.

Clearly this is not always the reality. Many Christians do take offense at those who disagree with them, often violently, as seen throughout history. But to the extent that Christians respond out of hatred rather than out of love, they are not behaving as Christians ought.

Matthew 5:43-45, NIV (emphasis added):

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

From this verse, we see that a Christian's response to one like Dawkins (who "persecutes" Christians--at least intellectually, I don't think he's ever physically persecuted them), is to pray for him.

A Christian who prays for Dawkins is not likely to have an ugly confrontation with him, should they ever meet. Instead, he will share God's love with him (your point #2), whether Dawkins ever accepts Christ or not.